Bible Study - Sabbath School Podcast

Read for This Week’s Study: Gen. 14:18–20; Mal. 3:10; Deut. 12:5–14; Lev. 27:30; 1 Kings 17:9–16; 1 Cor. 4:1, 2. Memory Text: “ ‘Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,’ says the L ord of hosts, ‘if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it’ ” (Malac...

Further Thought: “Whenever God’s people, in any period of the world, have cheerfully and willingly carried out His plan in systematic benevolence [tithing] and in gifts and offerings, they have realized the standing promise that prosperity should attend all their labors just in proportion as they obeyed His requirements. When they acknowledged the claims of God and complied with His requirements,...

Seek Ye First It was said of Jesus that “the common people heard him gladly” (Mark 12:37). Most of the people in the large crowds who followed and listened to Jesus were members of this class, the common people. They were the ones who were fed on the mountainside and who heard the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus said to them, basically, I know you are concerned about providing for your families. You wo...

The Tithe Contract There is a close spiritual connection between the practice of tithing and our relationship to God. The Israelites prospered when they obeyed God and were faithful in tithing. In contrast, they fell on hard times when they didn’t. They seemed to follow a cycle of obedience and prosperity, and then disobedience and problems. It was during one of these periods of unfaithfulness tha...

Honor the Lord The book of Proverbs is not so much about right and wrong as it is about wisdom and foolishness. As one reads through the book, one will see the benefits of wisdom and the pitfalls of foolishness. Read Proverbs 3:1–10. What wonderful promises are given here? Also, what does “firstfruits of all your increase” mean? God asks us to put Him first in the management of our possessions as...

To Hearken Diligently The book of Deuteronomy is the printed version of Moses’ farewell messages to the second generation of Israelites following the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. These messages were given on the plains of Moab just east of Jericho. Deuteronomy has been appropri- ately called “The Book of Remembrance.” In this book, Moses reviews God’s faithful dealings with Israel. He...

The Salvation Covenant The death of Christ on Calvary made salvation possible for every person who has ever lived or who will ever live. Unlike the promise of the seasons, salvation is not unilateral—it is not given to everyone, regardless of what they do. The belief that everyone will be saved is called “universalism.” Instead, Jesus clearly taught that, though He died for all humanity, many peop...

Read for This Week’s Study: Matt. 10:22, John 6:29, Deut. 28:1–14, Prov. 3:1–10, Mal. 3:7–11, Matt. 6:25–33. Memory Text: “ ‘Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the L ord your God, to observe carefully all His command- ments which I command you today, that the L ord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and...

Further Thought: “The heart of God yearns over His earthly chil- dren with a love stronger than death. In giving up His Son, He has poured out to us all heaven in one gift. The Saviour’s life and death and interces- sion, the ministry of angels, the pleading of the Spirit, the Father working above and through all, the unceasing interest of heavenly beings,—all are enlisted in behalf of man’s redem...

Treasure in Heaven “ ‘Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also’ ” (Matt. 6:19–21, NKJV). What crucial truths is Jesus speaking here? Who ha...

Responsibilities of God’s Family Members We all enjoy the spiritual and temporal blessings and gifts that God gives us. How comforting to know, too, that we are “part of the family.” Read Deuteronomy 6:5 and Matthew 22:37. What does this mean, and how do we do it? How would you love God with “ ‘ “all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” ’ ” (Matt. 22:37, NKJV)? Interestingly eno...

Resources Available for God’s Family God’s greatest gift to His children is Jesus Christ, who brings us the peace of forgiveness, grace for daily living and spiritual growth, and the hope of eternal life. “ ‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life’ ” (John 3:16, NKJV). “But as many as received him, to t...

God Is the Owner of Everything Read Psalm 50:10–12; Psalm 24:1; 1 Chronicles 29:13, 14; and Haggai 2:8. What’s the message here, and what should this truth mean to us and how we relate to whatever we possess? The book of 1 Chronicles, starting with chapter 17, records King David’s desire to build a house for God. He shared this desire with the prophet Nathan, who responded, “ ‘Do all that is in yo...

We Are Part of God’s Family “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named” (Eph. 3:14, 15, NKJV). What imagery is evoked in this verse, and what hope is found there? Early in Jesus’ ministry, He states, “ ‘In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name’ ” (Matt. 6:9, NKJV). Later He repe...

Read for This Week’s Study: Gal. 3:26, 29; Ps. 50:10–12; 1 Chron. 29:13, 14; Phil. 4:19; 1 John 5:3; Matt. 6:19–21. Memory Text: “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1, NKJV). As Christians, an amazing feature about our relationship with God is that He trusts us to manage His affairs on the earth. At the very outset of huma...

It is difficult for us to fully comprehend the relationship that our God, the Creator of the universe, wants to have with us as human beings. (The mere idea of it is astounding!) “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1, NKJV). Or as Ellen G. White wrote: “Can any human dignity equal this? What higher position can we occupy t...

Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “The Controversy Ended,” pp. 674–678, in The Great Controversy; “The Earth Made New,” pp. 133–145; “Heaven Is a School,” pp. 146–158; “It Will Not Be Long,” pp. 159–166; “Heaven Can Begin Now,” pp. 167–176; “The Music of Heaven,” pp. 177–184; “A Call for Us to Be There,” pp. 185–192, in Heaven. “The cross of Christ will be the science and the song of the redee...

His Name on Their Foreheads Read Revelation 22:3–5. How can we be assured that we will be among those who will have the name of God written on our foreheads? Or can we be assured? After the rebellion of Lucifer and the fall of Adam and Eve, God could have destroyed the two sinners. Yet, as an expression of uncondi- tional love for His creatures, God established a merciful plan to save all those wh...

No More Death and Tears The theory of an immortal soul, suffering forever in an ever-burning hell, contradicts the biblical teaching that in the new heaven and the new earth there will be “ ‘no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying’ ” (Rev. 21:4, NKJV). If the theory of an eternal burning hell were true, then the “second death” would not eradicate sin and sinners from the universe but only con- fine...

In the Presence of God The Bible says that God “dwells in unapproachable light” (1 Tim. 6:16, NRSV), and that “no one has ever seen God” (John 1:18, 1 John 4:12, NRSV). Does it mean that the saints in heaven will never see God the Father? Not at all. It is quite evident that not seeing God refers to the human beings after the Fall, because there are several indications in Scripture that the saints...

In the Temple of God Some people speak of heaven itself as being God’s sanctuary. But the book of Revelation refers to a specific sanctuary/temple within the New Jerusalem, where God’s throne and the sea of glass are located (Rev. 4:2–6, Rev. 7:9–15, Rev. 15:5–8). There the great multitude of saints from all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues will worship God forever (Rev. 7:9–17). Compare Reve...

A New Heaven and a New Earth For some followers of Greek philosophy, the idea that something is physical means that it is bad. That’s why for them it is unconceivable to think of a real heaven with real people in the future. In this thinking, for it to be heaven and to be good, it must be a purely spiritual state, free from the blemishes found in the physical world here. If something is material,...

Read for This Week’s Study: 2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21:3, 22; 1 John 3:2, 3; 1 Pet. 1:22; Isa. 25:8; Rev. 22:3–5. Memory Text: “Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ And He said to me, ‘Write, for these words are true and faithful’ ” (Revelation 21:5, NKJV). Scripture gives us this hope: “But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which...

Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “Without a Wedding Gar- ment,” pp. 307–319, in Christ’s Object Lessons; “Desolation of the Earth,” pp. 653–661; “The Controversy Ended,” pp. 662–673, in The Great Controversy. “In the day of final judgment, every lost soul will understand the nature of his own rejection of truth. The cross will be presented, and its real bearing will be seen by every mind that...

The Second Death God is leading human history toward its end-time climax. At the end of the millennium all the wicked dead are raised from their graves to receive their final punitive sentences (Rev. 20:5, 11–15). Then, when the whole judging process is completed and nothing else can be added to it, the wicked will acknowledge God’s justice. “With all the facts of the great controversy in view, th...